is it a pasta dish or a salad?

I can't decide, but I know it is yummy! 


Giada De Laurentiis is my faaaaavorite, I am just short of being obsessed with her and having a total girl crush. A while back her video for Orecchiette with Mixed Greens & Goat Cheese popped up on foodnetwork.com and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. While running work errands I found myself at Trader Joe's and a bag of Orecchiette pasta was staring me right in the face. I was instantly whisked away into recipe/cooking land. I knew I had to finally make Giada's pasta....salad....pasta... (???) After adequately scanning every aisle, I left with bags full of yumminess (sparkling juices, fresh salsas, spices, things I don't need at all), cheap wine (duhhh) and all the ingredients (plus some!) for the dish. 


Let's speed this up...


I made her pasta but I added some extra little gems and it ROCKED! Light, healthy-ish, tangy, FRESH, filling and satisfying. Josh loved the sun dried tomatoes and related them to the sweetness of Jolly Ranchers...whatever. I loved the sweet and tangy taste of the goat cheese, mixed greens and tomatoes mixed with the rich, savory, saltiness of the baby portobello mushrooms and black olives. Mmmmm. Let's do this---
(This will take you 10 minutes. If even... )


What you need: 
1/2 bag of Orecchiette pasta (italian "little ears"), 1 bag of mixed greens, 1 bag of sun-dried tomatoes, 1 can of sliced black olives, 1/2 package of sliced baby portobello mushrooms, minced garlic, extra virgin olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt & pepper and 2-3 tablespoons of goat cheese


1. Throw some water on to boil and cook the pasta until al dente....more dente than al....please don't forget to salt your water. season every step of the way. words to live by.


2. In a saute pan heat up the evoo and cook the mushrooms with the garlic. When they are yummy and dark and tender and smell "oooooh yes!" then throw in the olives and the sun-dried tomatoes (this is just to make everything all warm and into a fun little veggie family)


3. Dump the salad into a cute serving bowl, top with 2 ladles of pasta water, the cooked and drained noodles, the warm veggie mix, parmesan cheese (lottttsssss) and the goat cheese. Toss everything to combine and allow the greens to wilt down. 


Dish it out and eat it up! :)